Governor Hochul Announces $75 Million in Awards to Develop New Intensive Crisis Stabilization Centers
Governor Kathy Hochul on Tuesday announced funding awards of up to $75 million to create nine new Intensive Crisis Stabilization Centers across the State that will assist any adult, child, or adolescent experiencing a behavioral health crisis. The centers will provide evaluation, care, and treatment in a safe and welcoming environment, 24 hours per day, seven days per week.
"My administration is developing a robust and comprehensive crisis response system that will provide immediate assistance to people who need urgent care for a behavioral health crisis," Governor Hochul said. Read more here. |
Governor Hochul Announces $12 Million to Fund Family Opportunity Centers to Support Families and Prevent Child Abuse and Maltreatment
Governor Kathy Hochul announced on Monday that New York State is awarding grants totaling up to $12 million through February 28, 2026, to fund family opportunity centers, which are community-based or school-based programs that provide services that strengthen families and improve the safety and well-being of children and families.
The initiative is a collaboration between the New York State Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) and the State Education Department (SED). OCFS will administer the grants, made available through State funds and the federal Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention (CBCAP) program included in the American Rescue Plan. Read more here. |
OMH Announces $5M in Funding for Suicide Prevention Programs
The Office of Mental Health announced funding for suicide prevention programs in minority communities. Five $1,000,000 rewards will be distributed to those who need it most. Since the pandemic, anxiety and stress have been at the forefront of mental health issues, that’s according to Matthew Canuteson, the Chief Diversity Officer at the Office of Mental Health, “We thought that it would be very important to have, you know, unique services available, specifically for populations that we traditionally struggle with,” he said. Read more here. |
Governor Hochul Announces Successful Implementation of 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline
Governor Kathy Hochul announced the successful implementation of 988 in New York State as the new three-digit number to call or text to be connected to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. All 62 counties in New York State will be covered for the launch of the new 988 Lifeline, which will ensure that anyone with a New York area code contacting 988 will be connected to one of New York's 988 crisis centers.
The FY 2023 Enacted Budget included $35 million to significantly expand 988 crisis call center capacity throughout New York State. This funding will increase to $60 million on a full annual basis starting in FY 2024. Read more here. |
OMH Enters Contract with Top Hospitals and Universities in NYS to Expand and Strengthen Project TEACH
The NYS Office of Mental Health is collaborating with some of the top universities and hospitals in the state to expand access to Project TEACH (Training and Education for the Advancement of Children’s Health) an innovative program that helps New York's pediatric primary care providers deliver care to children and families who experience mild-to-moderate mental health concerns.
OMH is partnering with University Psychiatric Practice (UPP), which is a collaboration led by University at Buffalo’s Department of Psychiatry, and includes faculty psychiatrists from the University of Rochester, Columbia University, New York State Psychiatric Institute, SUNY Upstate, Zucker School of Medicine/ Northwell Health, Albany Medical Center and Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Read more here. |
NYS Sheriffs’ Association Launches New Health & Wellness Program for all New York Sheriff Office Personnel
The New York State Sheriffs’ Association (NYSSA) and FirstNet®, Built with AT&T announced the launch of an innovative, statewide health & wellness program available to all 58 county Sheriff’s Offices in New York. The new program comes as 177 first responders committed suicide last year nationally and rates of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD,) depression, and anxiety among public safety and law enforcement personnel far exceed the rates of the general population. Read more here. |
AG James Releases Written Testimony From Public Hearing on New York's Mental Health Crisis
New York Attorney General James today released written testimony submitted to the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) in the public hearing on the quality and accessibility of mental health care statewide. Government officials, health care providers, community organizations, and impacted New Yorkers submitted testimony regarding several issues, including but not limited to a lack of psychiatric care beds for adults and children, stigmatized perceptions of mental illness, and connections to the criminal legal system. Read more here. |
Relaxed Methadone Rules Appear Safe, Researchers Find
As the coronavirus pandemic shut down the nation in March of 2020, the U.S. government told methadone clinics they could allow stable patients with opioid addiction to take their medicine at home unsupervised.
Methadone, an opioid itself, can be dangerous in large amounts and most patients are required to take the liquid medicine daily at clinics. It wasn’t clear whether the relaxed take-home policy would cause more harm than good.
Now, a new study of fatal overdoses from January 2019 to August 2021 suggests that easing access was safe. It did not lead to more deaths involving the treatment drug. Read more here. |
5 Leading Principles for Actionable Health Equity Work
A new guidebook drafted by experts convened by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) has set forward to provide actionable recommendations for how healthcare organizations can address health equity.
The guidebook, Raising the Bar, outlines a set of five foundational principles that RWJF and partner organizations said can help healthcare organizations actually deliver on the promise of health equity. Read more here. |
OMIG Proposes Omnibus Regulations Impacting Medicaid Providers’ and Plans’ Compliance Obligations
On July 13, the New York State Office of Medicaid Inspector General (OMIG) published proposed rules in the New York State Register1 to implement provisions of the State Fiscal Year 2020-2021 Enacted Budget2 and the Medicaid program integrity reform initiatives of the MRT II.
The proposed regulations would significantly revise the compliance program obligations of New York Medicaid enrolled providers and Medicaid managed care organizations (MMCOs). Read more here. |
Understanding the Unwinding: How States Can Deliver Key Messages to Medicaid Recipients
As the expiration of the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) nears, states need to be planning now for the repercussions. For the first time in years, states will be going through the process of redetermination—often called “the unwinding”—for millions of recipients of Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
As we know, enrollment expanded dramatically during the PHE. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, 16.1 million people enrolled in Medicaid from February 2020 to February 2022, creating a total of more than 87 million Medicaid and CHIP enrollees as of February 2022. Read more here. |
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U.S. Death Toll from Drug Overdoses is Rising Fast Among Black and Indigenous people
Historic rises in drug overdose deaths are disproportionately affecting Black and Indigenous people in the United States.
A new analysis from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention using data from 25 states finds that fatal overdoses increased by 44% among Black people in 2020 compared with the year prior.
The jump in drug overdose deaths was almost as sharp for American Indian and Alaska Native people — groups that together saw a 39% increase over the previous year. Read more here. |
DiNapoli Audit Finds Lax Oversight of Medicaid Payments May Have Cost Taxpayers Nearly $300 Million
Too often Medicaid pays medical bills that a third-party insurer should have covered, and not enough is being done to make sure Medicaid recovers that money, according to an audit by New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. The audit found that a lack of oversight by the state Department of Health (DOH) and the Office of the Medicaid Inspector General (OMIG) resulted in nearly $300 million in pharmacy claims that Medicaid never tried to recover from patients’ insurance providers. Read more here. |
UPCOMING EVENTS & TRAININGS
July 21, 12 - 1 pm, PsychU
July 21, 2 - 3 pm, National Council for Mental Wellbeing
July 22, 10 am - 12 pm
July 25, 1 - 2 pm, Manatt Health
July 26, 1 - 3 pm
July 26, 3 - 4 pm, Camden Coalition
July 27, 1 - 2 pm, Manatt Healthcare
July 27, 1 - 2 pm, National Council for Mental Wellbeing
July 27, 3 - 4 pm, NWATTC
July 27, 3 - 5 pm, NAADAC
July 28, 12 - 1 pm, PsychU
July 28, 1 - 2:30 pm, OMH
July 28, 3 - 4 pm, National Council for Mental Wellbeing
August 3, 1 - 2 pm, OMH
August 9, 3 - 4 pm, OMH
August 17, 3 - 4:30 pm, OMH
August 23, 1 - 2 pm, MTM Services
August 23, 3 - 4 pm, OMH
August 31, 1 - 2 pm, National Council on Mental Wellbeing
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CLMHD CALENDAR
JULY
LGU Clinic Operators Meeting
July 26: 10 - 11:30 am
AUGUST
CLMHD Executive Committee Meeting
August 3: 8 - 9 am
LGU Clinic Operators Meeting
August 9: 10 - 11:30 am
Addiction Services & Recovery Committee Meeting
August 11: 11 am - 12 pm
Mental Health Committee Meeting
August 11: 3 - 4 pm
Children & Families Committee Meeting
August 16: 11:30 am - 1 pm
CLMHD Membership Call
August 17: 9 - 10:30 am
Mental Hygiene Planning Committee Meeting
August 18: 1 - 3 pm
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